I would say, along the lines of what Rings said, that the tulip represents Bella, whole and complete, with Edward there to love and care for her, while the lone petal falling would be the part of Bella that carries on its hollow form of pseudo-existence once Edward removes himself so callously from her life.The blood is just for graphic detail, to make the point more poignant, in that the whole and complete Bella she left behind is a soiled and defiled thing, covered in the blood of her murdered love...That's pretty obscure, I know, but then again, so was the question.Good to be back here, I forgot all about this thread, since I've only been able to get online very infrequently lately, and therefore have only been keeping up with the threads I consider to be the most vitally important to me, i.e., XY and Gen Y, so hello to all, it's good to be back!New Question:How would the story have progressed differently if Edward had been able to read Bella's mind like everyone elses? I don't mean at first, that was one of the main things that drew him to her, I'm more implying that Bella were able to have more control over her shield in her human life, trying to push it away, while Edward tried harder to get into her thoughts... Maybe that's a bit obscure as well? Meh, it's the best I can do for now, I've been kind of out of the swing of things for a while, it's going to take some time before I get back to my previous caliber of questions...

SenorGimp wrote:I would say, along the lines of what Rings said, that the tulip represents Bella, whole and complete, with Edward there to love and care for her, while the lone petal falling would be the part of Bella that carries on its hollow form of pseudo-existence once Edward removes himself so callously from her life.The blood is just for graphic detail, to make the point more poignant, in that the whole and complete Bella she left behind is a soiled and defiled thing, covered in the blood of her murdered love...That's pretty obscure, I know, but then again, so was the question.Good to be back here, I forgot all about this thread, since I've only been able to get online very infrequently lately, and therefore have only been keeping up with the threads I consider to be the most vitally important to me, i.e., XY and Gen Y, so hello to all, it's good to be back!New Question:How would the story have progressed differently if Edward had been able to read Bella's mind like everyone elses? I don't mean at first, that was one of the main things that drew him to her, I'm more implying that Bella were able to have more control over her shield in her human life, trying to push it away, while Edward tried harder to get into her thoughts... Maybe that's a bit obscure as well? Meh, it's the best I can do for now, I've been kind of out of the swing of things for a while, it's going to take some time before I get back to my previous caliber of questions...

You found my question obscure? Frankly, I thought it was pretty clear & simple. Oh well.

Well, if Bella was able to control how her thoughts could be read by Edward, then maybe some of the misunderstandings would have been cleared up seeing as she could not articulate them as she should. She could have shown Edward that Jacob would not hurt her when she was with him - show him how he is around her. Also, she could let him hear the conversations that she & Jacob had while Edward was off gallivanting in New Moon - especially the parts where she told Jacob that she would not change and let Edward hear her private thoughts on the whole Romeo/Juliet/Paris set-up. He could 'hear' that imaginary voice of Edward's that also kept Bella "sane & alive" if you will.

Maybe, she could have in Eclipse let Edward hear why marriage was taboo to her, so that Edward would not have been hurt by her response to his proposal. Like I said, maybe some things could have been cleared up or never misunderstood if that theory existed.

Sorry Navarre, maybe the word I was looking for was abstract? Yes, I'm sure that was it, I get them confused sometimes, my bad..Abstract answer to an abstract question which was not in any way obscure, but straight-forward, and understandable...Anyway, good answer!

What do you think Carlisle would have done with his life if he had never been turned into a vampire? We know he was starting to not agree with the raids that his father was obsessed with. Do you think he would have left his dad? Become a Dr. anyway? Or do something completely different...?

Wants to move to Forks and live with the Cullens forever.Banner by the fabulous MRKI ♥ my Lexily!

On the cover of New Moon is a tulip. SM says it has no direct meaning, but if YOU could give it a meaning, what would it be? What would the one lone petal falling mean?

I had to start by responding to this because I think it is actually a beautiful question, putting meaning to something that should, at least to us. Anyway, I think I always saw the tulip as representative of Bella's two lives, with and without Edward. The white is pure and strong, supported, with Edward. Where the red fades in at the end is without him, fading to dark, ending. Exactly the opposite of how he sees it. The lone falling petal might be a little bit of foreshadowing, the small piece of her heart that will always belong to Jacob because of the place he takes in her life in the story.

roseaurora wrote:What do you think Carlisle would have done with his life if he had never been turned into a vampire? We know he was starting to not agree with the raids that his father was obsessed with. Do you think he would have left his dad? Become a Dr. anyway? Or do something completely different...?

I see Carlisle's compassion playing a huge role in his life, once he is able to break away from his father, which I have no doubt he would have. I actually do see him seeking to help people, though the term doctor didn't really have the same meaning in those days as it does even when he seeks to go to medical school. I wonder though if he would have sought out those frightened vampires who lived in the sewers and attacked him, trying to find out more about them, maybe even trying to befriend some. In the end, that probably would have gotten him killed. Compassion in Carlisle's day was not a gift but a curse. He might have been safer trying to stay at the pulpit and follow in his father's footsteps. Maybe from there, he could have reached out to those in need, helping in that way.

roseaurora wrote:What do you think Carlisle would have done with his life if he had never been turned into a vampire? We know he was starting to not agree with the raids that his father was obsessed with. Do you think he would have left his dad? Become a Dr. anyway? Or do something completely different...?

I think he may have stayed on as a Vicar - for a while. I would like to think that he may have turned his congregation around by coming in from a different angle about biblical things - not so unforgiving as his father was. Unfortunately, this was Cromwell's time period and he was hell-bent on vengeance against the Catholic church, so Carlisle may have been ran out of the village for trying to speak the 'truth'.

So, on that note, I would say he may have done missionary work, helping the poor and of cource finding a nice lady and having a family. You get the point.

Wow, no Vampire Carlisle?I'm not sure that is something I want to consider, let alone countenance.. He is the epitome of what it means to be good despite your lot in life, without him, there would, quite simply, be NO Twilight story at all, no Edward for Bella to confusedly fall in love with, No Esme to be such a wonderful and loving mother figure, no precedent of the possibility of a Vegetarian Vampire.. Case in Point, the world of the supernatural would be infinitely more bleak and despairing if Carlisle Cullen had not been transformed, and I will not (sorry, I know that's the purpose of this thread ) entertain such speculation...But I'd be happy to answer any other questions anyone might have...Thank you for your time~SenorGimp~

SenorGimp wrote:Wow, no Vampire Carlisle?I'm not sure that is something I want to consider, let alone countenance.. He is the epitome of what it means to be good despite your lot in life, without him, there would, quite simply, be NO Twilight story at all, no Edward for Bella to confusedly fall in love with, No Esme to be such a wonderful and loving mother figure, no precedent of the possibility of a Vegetarian Vampire.. Case in Point, the world of the supernatural would be infinitely more bleak and despairing if Carlisle Cullen had not been transformed, and I will not (sorry, I know that's the purpose of this thread ) entertain such speculation...But I'd be happy to answer any other questions anyone might have...Thank you for your time~SenorGimp~

Gimp, I must say, it is good to see you around the Lex again. Hope things are well with your projects and such.